WBS PENS: Toughness should not be a problem

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have been around for 15 years, and if they're around for another 150, people will probably still be debating whether fighting has a place in hockey.

But as long as fighting is still part of the game, there will be players who are particularly good at it and therefore engage enthusiastically.

After an all-time low of 55 fighting majors in 2011-12, the Penguins rebounded with 79 fights last season. Given the way their roster is shaping up, that trend should continue this season.

For heavyweight Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, agitator Bobby Farnham and a handful of other players on the AHL roster, fighting is a significant part of their game. The Wheeling Nailers made a renewed commitment to toughness in the offseason too, meaning the Penguins will have the option to call up some scrappers if need be as well.

"Throughout our lineup this year, regardless of who we have in it, we'll have a lot of team toughness," coach John Hynes said. "We have a couple of heavyweight type of guys, but I think if you look throughout the lineup, there are a lot of guys who can bring that element to the game."

Fight club

Here is a list of the 10 players most likely to lead the Penguins in fighting majors this season.

1. Bobby Farnham

A quintessential agitator. Doesn't decisively win a lot of fights, but gets under opponents' skin on a nightly basis. Had 21 fights as a rookie last year.

2. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

When it comes to picking the AHL's top heavyweight of the last three or four seasons, Leblond is in the discussion. Has six career fights against Hershey's Joel Rechlicz.

3. Zach Sill

His 10 fights last season were the most in his four-year career, helping him climb up the franchise's all-time fighting major leader board. If he gets his left hand loose, look out.

4. Tom Kostopoulos

WBS fans think of him as a scorer, and rightfully so, but Kostopoulos also has 65 NHL fights to his credit. He's taken on heavyweights ranging from Zdeno Chara to Milan Lucic.

5. Adam Payerl

Had four fights as a rookie with the Penguins last year, but he's 6-foot-3, 222 pounds and he was among OHL leaders with 14 fighting majors in his final year of junior hockey.

6. Dominik Uher

Uher showed some sandpaper in his game with five fights in 54 games as a rookie last year. His rivalry with Hershey's Steve Oleksy was spirited.

7. Harry Zolnierczyk

Not a feared fighter, but his fierce style of play leads to confrontations, like when he fought Brett Gallant and James Wisniewski last season.

8. Harrison Ruopp

Ruopp, a rookie defenseman, has been slowed by an injury in training camp, but he had 21 fights over his last two seasons in junior hockey.

9. Philip Samuelsson

Fans probably don't think of Samuelsson as a fighter, but he plays a subtly nasty game. Only 105 AHL players had more than five fights last year and with six, he was one of them.

10. Paul Thompson

Thompson is more of a scorer than a scrapper, but a forward playing a power game sometimes ends up in situations where a fight is called for. He had five last season.

All-time scrappers

Eleven players in team history have recorded more than 25 fighting majors while wearing a Penguins uniform. Here's the list:

Player GP Fights

1. Dennis Bonvie 285 103

2. David Koci 194 72

3. Paul Bissonnette 161 61

4. Jason MacDonald 187 50

5. Darcy Verot 172 46

6. Deryk Engelland 231 37

7. Daniel Carcillo 103 30

Aaron Boogaard 64 30

Steve Parsons 56 30

10. Zach Sill 259 29

11. Jesse Boulerice 121 27

Through the years

Here is a look at how many fighting majors the Penguins have earned in each of their previous 14 seasons and where that total ranked in the AHL.

Year Fights Rank

12-13 79 T7th

11-12 55 14th

10-11 83 T9th

09-10 99 1st

08-09 98 4th

07-08 86 5th

06-07 82 T7th

05-06 93 4th

04-05 97 13th

03-04 88 7th

02-03 63 T12th

01-02 127 1st

00-01 115 1st

99-00 77 14th

Rule book

Among a handful of rules changes in the AHL this year is one that will affect fighting. Players will be assessed an extra minor penalty if they remove their helmets before a scrap. Players used to do so to ensure a fair fight, free of potentially knuckle-cutting punches to a visor. The change was enacted for safety's sake, as players hitting the backs of their heads on the ice at the end of a fight is a particularly dangerous situation.

Here is a look at seven other rule changes this season:

1. Players must wear helmets in warm-ups. This change won't affect the Penguins, who have had an internal team rule to that effect for years.

2. Nets will be four inches shallower to give offensive players more room below the goal line. It also might cause more goal-no goal controversies if pucks pop out of the shallower nets more frequently.

3. A crackdown on uniform modifications includes, most notably, a ban on players tucking their jerseys into their pants. Why the change? Who knows?

4. Rules governing the length of goalies' pads have changed. In most cases, the pads are an inch or two shorter, opening the five-hole a bit, but it depends on the length of the goalie's legs.

5. Linesmen may no longer wave off icing because a player missed a receivable pass. Icing is icing.

6. The hybrid icing rule, which the AHL used during the lockout last year and scrapped once it ended, is back.

7. Rule 48.1, which bans head shots, has been rewritten. Gone is the mention of "targeting" an opponent's head as the "principal point of contact." Instead, a hit that "results in contact with an opponent's head" is illegal if such contact was "unavoidable."

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